Burning Up
by Latente
Summary: After about a month, Thrax re-enters Frank, somehow survivng the alcohol. He meets a white blood cell named Sharia, cousin to Osmosis Jones. Once captured, Sharia wishes she was anywhere other than near Thrax. But it isn't the same for the virus...
1. Just another day

Chapter 1

Sharia leapt over the boxes, her trailing foot catching on one of them, sending her sprawling onto the filthy dirt. The dark alleyways of Frank were bad places to be, even in the best of times. The reason she was in one of the aforementioned alleys was because she had just been walking along the main street as she usually did every day, when some low-life germs jumped out in front of her, demanding money. When she had refused, they had dragged her into the alleyway and tried to beat her up. She'd given them hell. Now, after reflecting later, she was glad she had took the self-defence lessons since they'd saved her ass too many times to count.

Scrambling to her feet, Sharia quickly sprinted 'round a bend, jumping over a sleeping body as she did so. Her heart was pounding, the feeling of being chased giving her new energy. As she rounded another bend, she noticed a pile of disused boxes outside a small deserted nightclub. Hastily diving into the mess of jumbled boxes, she carefully lay amongst them. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps and her head felt as if it was going to explode. Sharia held her breath as the germs thundered past, jeering in the completely wrong direction. Poking her head out, she quickly checked the area around herself, searching for any immediate threat. Seeing none, she climbed out, already heading back towards the main street. Since she was a child, her mum and dad had drilled into her not to go into the dark alleys and she had promised them she wouldn't. Today wasn't breaking her promise, she had been ambushed and then dragged into the alley so, hey, no promise broken.

As she walked back into the light of main street, she sighed in relief as she saw some FPD walking down the road. After exchanging some brief details about the germs, they were soon on their trail, like foxhounds after a fox. After that, she walked back to her lonely apartment with her hands firmly stuffed into her pockets. As she waited for the lift, Sharia looked over at the receptionist, watching them as they typed away at their keyboard. The soft ping of the elevator announced its entrance so quietly, that she almost missed it. She quickly got in and jabbed her floor number. As the lift began its smooth ascent, she leaned against the wall of the compartment, sighing as she realised how close she had been to becoming a pool of plasma. There was another reason why she had been walking along main street. She had been hoping to find an old warehouse to investigate some goings on inside it.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she literally sprinted down the corridor, startling the room service lady in the process. After shouting apologies to the room service, she disappeared into her apartment, locking the door behind her. Snapping her computer into action, she dug into her secret stash of chewing gum, plopping a strip on her tongue as she prepared herself to delve into the world of news stories and street rumours. As she worked, she listened to her favourite song, 'Diablo'. Brushing her purple tinged hair out of face, she focused on one story that had happened just over a year ago, just before the new mayor was elected. Her eyes scanned the story, eating up all the information they could get. Her violet eyes narrowed slightly as she read about a red virus that called itself the 'Red Death'. Apparently, this virus had invaded Frank and stolen a DNA bead from the hypothalamus gland and the cop, Osmosis Jones, had stopped this virus and watched as they burned in alcohol.

Sharia gasped as she read that he had used some buildings around the area where she had been as a base of operations. Her jaw dropped as she saw that the nightclub she had been snooping about had been one of his bases. Frantically scribbling on a pad, she wrote down the address, hoping to get to the nightclub the next day. As she looked out the window, she saw it had gone dark and she yawned, realising how tired she was. Crawling onto her bed, she quickly changed into her night wear and snuggled under her quilt, holding a pillow close to her. Little did she know, a tall, red skinned virus had just re-entered Frank, brushing spit off his coat as he shot down Frank's throat on a saliva boat. He was humming 'Fever' as he glided down his gullet, the boat almost leaving the surface of the throat as it hurtled head first into Frank. When the boat was about to crash into the bridge at the beginning of the great City of Frank, the occupant quickly snapped their coat out, so it appeared to have wings, and glided onto the bridge, smirking as he heard the screams and cries of alarm as the boat crashed into the sidewalk. As the virus walked beside the buildings, he ran one long orange glowing index finger across the buildings, making them crackle as they began to burn.

As he walked down the same alley Sharia had been in earlier, he was greeted by the germs with 'Hey boss,' or 'Welcome back boss'. He smiled, brushing his long purple dreads back with his right hand.

"Big Daddy Thrax is back baby. And now he is hotter than ever..."


	2. Captured!

Burning Up (chapter 2)

As Sharia woke up, the soft light filtering in through the window, she had to most strange feeling of being watched. She quickly jumped out of bed, picking up her small knife she kept by her bed and held it in front of her, watching the light refract off its metallic edge. The person looked at her with wide eyes.

"Is that how you treat every visitor?" They asked, a cynical tone to their voice. "Especially your family?" Her cousin, none other than the cop Osmosis Jones, looked at her, an eyebrow raised. She chuckled and threw the knife towards her dart board, hitting bulls-eye and she leapt forward and hugged him.

"I forgot how sarcastic you could be." She laughed. He laughed with her, enjoying seeing his cousin after so long. After extracting herself from him, she wandered over to her notepad and quickly read the address again, nodding to herself as she memorised it, nodding to herself as she did so. Turning back to Osmosis, she twirled her fingers round, telling him to turn round. As he did, she quickly put on what she called her 'Stealth' clothes, hastily putting on her normal jacket to hide them. Clearing her throat, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him round, bursting out laughing as she saw the look he had planted on his face. He grinned as she fell to the ground, her body shaking with laughter. Ozzy was still chuckling as he answered his phone which was buzzing at his hip. As he listened to the person on the other end, his face fell, hardening into a stern mask.

"What is it?" Sharia asked as she saw his expression change. Something in that look did not bode well as she knew since the last time he had this expression was when he was facing off a nasty type of bacteria, saving her life.

"Several houses have been set alight," He said, his voice stern and cold. "They were set alight last night by the sounds of it."

"I can help investigate if you like," She perked up. "I'm quite good at finding out who did things."

"Yeah, least time you said that I had to save you from a giant type of bacteria."

"But you got rid of it."

"But you nearly died."

"But-"

"Don't start another sentence with but."

They stared at each other, daring the other to start another sentence. Eventually after a long, awkward silence, they grinned at each other, remembering how they used to argue like this when they were younger.

"Right, I'll be off now. Chief wants me at the scene pronto." Ozzy said, putting his jacket back on. "What are you gonna do?"

"Oh you know," She winked. "Explore a bit. Maybe investigate something interesting."

"Well, I hope you have fun." Ozzy stepped out of the door and headed towards the elevator, already thinking about what the crime scene would look like. Sharia listened closely as she heard him catch the elevator. _Good,_ She thought,_ This makes this next thing much more easier._ She left her apartment, carrying her small knife with her in its sheath. Instead of catching the elevator, she walked down the stairs, letting her legs go down two at a time. As she same out into the city air, she hurriedly walked over to the garage where she sat on her bike, stroking it fondly. The engine roared to life as she started it up, growling beneath her. Quickly placing her helmet on, she zoomed out of the garage, heading straight towards the nightclub she had been next to the day before.

Jumping off her bike, she placed the helmet in the bag behind the seat. Combing her hair back, she tied it into a small ponytail, hoping that if there was more running, her hair would stay out of the way. As she opened the club door, it squeaked slightly and she froze, expecting the virus or a germ to leap out at her. After several minutes of standing still, she carefully walked into the club, being careful not to disturb anything. Shining her small torch around the dark interior, she pouted in disappointment as she saw nothing that was interesting. A sudden rustling sound caught her attention and she snapped her head round to see a map of Frank lying on the table, small circles surrounding certain places, mainly police stations. She was so busy pouring over the map that she didn't see the person behind the door close it. It was only when it was fully closed that Sharia noticed.

Pulling out her knife, she looked about, heart pounding, into the darkness. She heard a light switch flick and soon the lights flared into life, blinding her briefly. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked at the figure who stood next to the door. He was tall, that was enough to be said as he towered over her. His skin was a blood red and his hair was purple and hung behind his head in dreds. His eyes were piercing yellow that leered down at her.

"Well, sugar," He said, a smirk creeping at the corners of his mouth. "It seems you're snooping about in the wrong place." As he said this, several germs came out of the shadows and his smirk finally found itself on his face.

"Aww crap..." She whimpered as she backed away, waving her knife in front of her. This seemed to amuse the virus even more and he grinned, looming over her as he easily took the knife from his grip.

"Did you really think you could protect yourself with this tiny thing?" He asked, throwing it into the shadows. "You're gonna have to try a lot harder, baby." The kick that came to his groin was as unexpected as the punch that followed. After his eyes widening and then scrunching in pain, he bent over where he was introduced to Sharia's knee. He groaned and staggered away, growling at his goons to grab her. As the germs ran at her, Sharia quickly pulled out her hidden pistol and aimed it at the first germs head, already pulling the trigger. The shot hit the big blue germ squarely in the forehead, the area around the wound erupting with a horrible mix of pus and deep blue blood that spilled down the germs front, covering it from head to toe in filth. She had little time to celebrate her great shot as the germs were already around her, not giving her enough time to fire again. Using the butt of her gun, she brought it down on one of the germs heads, smiling grimly as the butt connected with a resounding _thunk_.

Before she could hurt any of the germs, two hands grasped her wrists with a vice like grip, causing her to kick out at the other germs, who clutched at their man anatomy with loud groans. She felt the grip tighten and she growled, the sound rippling up from her chest. She tried flipping out of the grip, but the person who had her expected the move and slammed her down onto the floor, evicting a large groan from her.

"You don't want to be doing that, girl," Thrax growled by her ear. "You might get hurt yourself. Now get up." He stood up then, letting Sharia stand up, only to get a fist to the face.

"I don't take orders from you." She spat. Soon she was running towards the door, her sneakers squeaking on the laminate floor as she ran headlong towards the door and her only escape route. A hand rested itself on her shoulder tightening so much that she had to slow to a quick trot to avoid damaging her shoulder. The grip on her shoulder tightened until it found a particularly sensitive spot which caused her to scream in abject agony as the grip tightened on that point until she was forced to her knees but still she crawled towards the door, determined to escape. The deep chuckling behind her suggested that this was amusing Thrax a great deal.

"You're a determined one aren't you?" He murmured in her ear, his voice had a deep seductive quality to it. "Well then, I'll just have to put you somewhere where you won't find it so easy to escape. And sugar. Don't try and hurt me again." He suddenly grasped her right shoulder and squeezed the same point on the other shoulder, causing Sharia to pass out. He stood up straight, brushing his dreds out of his face with his free hand. Bending down again, he picked Sharia up as if she was a sack of grain and carried her to one of the old dressing rooms which was used to be used by any of the rare performances that happened before the place was deserted. He carefully placed her on a sofa and as he did so, a strange emotion sparked up inside him, an emotion he had never felt before. He quickly quelled it, cursing himself for the slip. He walked back to others and posted a guard by the dressing room door in case she should try to escape again.


	3. Shattered dreams

When Sharia awoke, she found herself in a musty room, surrounded by makeup stations and mirrors. There was a lone karaoke machine in the corner and she sat up, hissing as this action sent a mortar shell of pain exploding in her head. She sauntered over to it and hunkered down. Carefully unplugging it, she carried it to the stage, knowing that there was no point in trying to escape, even though she was close to the door. She placed the machine down, plugging it into the main speakers. As she looked at the songs list, she smiled broadly as she found her favourite song. Flicking the button, she listened to the intro until it was time to sing and as she was about to sing, she imagined there was a large crowd of people roaring her name in front of her instead of a few germs around the place.

"_Here's the thing, yeah we started out friends,_

_But this is not a Kelly Clarkson song_

_And not how it ends._

_Oh!_

_Everything I thought about you was lies,_

_Though that I knew you_

_But you were disguised._

_Everything I thought about you was bogus_

_I speak for the both of us_

_Time to say bye._

_Save face, and get out of town,_

_Take the car you're driving_

_And just turn it around_

'_Cause you're a_

_Nutcase_

_You're freaking me out_

_I'm sorry that you hate me 'cause I just wasn't down._

_You're the Devil,_

_You're a filthy piece of trash,_

_Gotta brush you off my shoulder,_

_Gonna let you kiss my ass._

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo._

_You're so damn evil._

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo,_

_You're a Diablo._

_Your shit is evil."_

As she carried on singing, she was oblivious to the germs that were looking at her with wide eyes as she strutted across the stage, her eyes tightly closed. Her dream was suddenly shattered when one of the germs whistled once she had finished. The sudden change almost sent her tumbling onto the floor in front of the stage but she regained her composure as soon as she had lost it. She looked over at the germ that whistled and saw it clapping it's hands, a big daft grin on its face. She noticed the other germs clapping as well and she smiled, glad that, even though they were germs, they had enjoyed it. Her euphoria was soon extinguished as she saw Thrax standing on the other end of the stage, his sunglasses lowered as he peered over the rims to look at her. Sharia quickly picked up all the equipment, her face a deep purple as she blushed and she was about to go back to her 'guest room' when she was stopped by a clawed red hand that had grasped her forearm.

She looked behind her to see Thrax smiling at her.

"I don't suppose you chose that song because of me?" He asked, a roguish glint in his eyes. "Cause baby, if you did choose that song because of me, you described me perfectly." He winked at her, that simple act making her blush an even deeper purple which much to her shock, was caused just by looking at him. He let go of her and watched her hurry back to her room, amused at how he had acted. If that alienated her that much then he would do it more often. Once Sharia was in her room, she leaned against the door, shocked that she had allowed herself to be seen singing in front of those and germs and _him._ How the hell did she get into this predicament? First she was just looking at this place and now she was captured by the person she had wanted to find more info about. She sighed. This day _sucked_. She wandered over to the make-up station and looked at the assortment of make-up stored in the draws. After deciding that it wasn't worth putting any on, she looked around and noticed a small fridge which was still functioning in the corner of the room. She opened the door and gazed into it, surprised to find some edible food in there.

She tugged out a can of soda and opened it, pleased to hear its fizzing sound. She noticed a small bag of sweets near the back and she wrestled them out, opening the bag only to be greeted with a waft of sweet orange. Her stomach rumbled and she easily ate the whole bag in under five minutes, relishing the taste of the fizzy orange sweets on her tongue. After about an hour or so of lying around, she realised that she hadn't been to the toilet since she had left her apartment. She opened the door and looked in all the rooms until she found the restroom. She quickly relieved herself and then explored the rest of the club, snooping around in all the empty rooms. One door however, didn't have an empty room behind it. As soon as she looked inside, she knew this was where Thrax stayed. The style of the room was too classy for any of the germs. The chaise lounge on one side of the room said that much but the thing that caught her eye was the red skinned figure standing by the kitchen counter, obviously too busy doing something to notice Sharia's entrance.

He was topless, only wearing his grey trousers and his shoes. She stared at him openly, taking in his body. He had a surprisingly small waist but she ignored that as he turned round, still busy with mixing his drink to notice her. He had muscular shoulders and a six-pack that even the most muscular muscle cells would die to have. Quietly walking around the chaise lounge, she hid behind it, only to knock over a small figure of something. She winced as it made a loud clattering sound and she froze, hopefully enough of her was behind the lounge that he wouldn't see her. She could feel Thrax's feet gently walk towards where the figure had fallen, his shoes barely making a sound on the carpet. Sharia felt him peer at the figure, scrutinizing it to make sure there were no cracks on it. He walked away and carried on fixing his drink and she sighed in relief. Gently crawling out from her hiding place, she crawled to the door, reshaping her body and squeezing through the small gap. She ran back to her room, looking behind her every so often to make sure Thrax was barrelling down the hallway after her.

Opening the door to her room, she hurried in, closing the door behind her. Closing her eyes, she thought about how she had looked at Thrax, She had stared too openly for herself not to notice. _You stared because he is __HOT_, a small voice in her head murmured. She shook her head, dislodging the very thought. Instead of snooping around, she decided to try to formulate a plan to at least _try_ to escape. She thought about how that stage was close to the door and how, if she tried at the moment, Thrax wouldn't be able to grab her like he had done before. She picked up the karaoke machine, making herself appear to be about to do the same thing she had done earlier. As she plugged the machine in, a large group of germs, including the guard at the door, sat in the seats in front of the stage, waiting for her to begin.

She clicked the button to begin playing the song and she sang the first few lines, walking up and down the stage, after every turn she brought herself closer to the door. When the song hit the chorus, she dashed towards the door, throwing it open and she would of made it, had she been paying attention. She would've seen Thrax appear in his grey turtle neck and stand in the shadow of the stage, watching her as she sang. As soon as she made a break for the door, he had dashed forward and grabbed her arm, forcing her to face him. She managed to pull out a hidden knife from her pocket and she sliced his wrist, sending a spray of red blood into the air. Grasping his wrist in pain, he let go of her arm, allowing her to run outside where she breathed in the damp alleyway air.

Before she could begin to run down the alley a familiar voice murmured seductively into her ear. "You wouldn't want to do that baby." Feeling the same claws grasp her arm again, she sighed. At least she had tried. Again she was dragged into the darkness of the nightclub but instead of being forced into her room, she was told to sing a particular song that Thrax liked. She looked through the list and, sure enough, found the song. Punching the play button, she began to sing 'Twisted Transistor'. Hate dripped from every word she sung, causing the weaker germs to recoil. What had seemed a nice white blood cell had turned out to be a hateful, pissed off cell that didn't like being ordered around. Once she finished the song she picked up the machine and threw it at Thrax, hoping it would smash and pierce him with a thousand sharp pieces. It did shatter into a thousand pieces (maybe more) but they didn't hit Thrax. He had grabbed the machine before it had hit him, sending splinters of it careering off into the darkness.

"Nice try, sugar, "He said mockingly. "Next time, try throwing a sock at me why don't you?" The germs nudged each other and chuckled but they erupted into laughter as they saw a sock hurtling across the stage. That was the most unexpected thing the virus could think of and the next moment he was the laughing stock as he felt the sock land on his face. Carefully extricating the sock from his face, he dropped it on the floor, his whole frame quivering with rage.

"Now that wasn't very nice..." He snarled. "Why not throw something less humiliating at me? Like, oh I don't know, a packet of chewing gum?" This time he expected something to be thrown at him but instead of chewing gum, he was met with giant picture frame that landed round his neck. This set him off and he stormed towards Sharia who was already dancing around the stage, tempting him to get closer while laughing at his enraged face. She was just doing a twirl when she felt a hand grab her wrist, stopping her. He looked at her face and the same emotion from earlier sparked up but he suppressed it, knowing it would not be good to show weakness in front of the germs. Grinning, Sharia twirled out of grip, resuming her dance across the stage.

"Are you gonna dance?" She asked. "Or are you gonna stand there like an Ebola virus?"

"Let me tell you something about Ebola baby... EBOLA IS A CASE OF DANDRUFF...Compared to me!" He growled but he trailed off as he saw Sharia disappearing backstage again. His shoulders sagged for a moment. "That girl is impossible." The chuckling from the germs drew his attention he fixed them all with a cold glare, silencing them all. He strolled back towards his room, in deep thought when he heard a heartbreaking melody being sung from a closed door. Not only was there singing, but a piano was also being played softly while the singer sang along, weaving a haunting melody.

"_Take a look at my body,_

_Look at my hands,_

_There's so much here that I don't understand._

_Your face-saving promises,_

_Whispered like prayers._

_I don't need them..._

_Because I've been treated so wrong._

_I've been treated so long._

_As if I'm becoming untouchable._

_Well, content loves the silence._

_It thrives in the dark._

_With fine winding tendrils,_

_That strangle the heart._

_They say that promises sweeten the blow,_

_But I don't need them._

_No, I don't need them._

_I've been treated so wrong,_

_I've been treated so long_

_As if I'm becoming untouchable._

_I'm a slow dying flower,_

_In the frost killing hour._

_Sweet turning sour and untouchable."_

As Thrax listened, he realised that some of the lines were choked with sobs as the singer gave into emotion, letting all the pent up despair to leak out into the song. After several lines were done, the song ended, with sobs echoing inside the room. He stepped away from the door, knowing that the singer had to be Sharia, letting all her emotions spill out. He thought about going in to see if she was alright but the thought froze him.

_What the hell did I just think? _He thought. _I can't be in love with a white blood cell..._ Instead of knocking, he just opened the door, standing in the doorway. Sharia looked up and saw Thrax standing in the doorway and she quickly dried her eyes, not wanting him to see her tears. She stood up, brushing dust off her trousers, reaching for a small knife strapped in a hidden sheath as she did so. Watching Thrax as he strode across the room, she quickly unsheathed the blade, holding it in front of her, warning him not to get any closer. He made a move to bat her hand away but instead he grabbed it, not in the harsh way he had done so many times before, but in a caring gesture. She looked at his hand in surprise but then he looked back to see him looking at her closely, his yellow eyes scanning her for something.

"If you don't mind me in saying this," She muttered. "You're a bit close."

"I know," He grinned. "It's my plan to be." He began to lean forward and when he was about to kiss her, Sharia ducked down and ran out of the room, her long hair unravelling from its tie so it flew out behind her as she raced towards the door, not caring if she was caught or not. The door crashed open and she tripped over something, sprawling into the dirt. She quickly stood up and turned around, only to see all the germs and Thrax standing in the doorway. The virus had a strange expression on his face, something Sharia couldn't picture on him. Was it anger? Or remorse? With a start, she realised it was remorse. She turned back round, only to find more germs in front of her, leering at her with crunching their fists.

"You don't want to be running baby," Thrax said quietly. "You might run into trouble." And with that he walked back inside, his long trench coat soon hiding him in the shadows. Sharia gritted her teeth, awaiting the first germ. When the first germ did leap forward, instead of slashing at him, she jumped up onto his back and propelled herself onto the roof, only managing to grab the edge. She hung there, legs dangling as she hauled herself up. She straightened up, her hair blowing around her face in the warm wind. She turned around to find the virus standing on the roof, leaning against an air vent.

"Of course," He smirked, back to his old self. "I would always catch you in the end." He sprinted forward, knowing that he would get to her before she could react. But what he didn't expect was the kick that was aimed at his face as he barrelled into her. He staggered away and growled, launching himself forward again. This time, he managed to knock her to the ground, batting her knife out of her hands.

"You seem to find these little toys everywhere," He said, throwing it over the edge. "Shame you won't live to see the light again." He grinned, his already glowing claw diving down towards Sharia...


	4. The impalement

The claw stopped just above her, being held back by someone. She looked up to see Osmosis Jones standing on the roof, gripping the virus's hand, stopping its deadly descent.

"You may have nearly killed Frank," He growled. "But you won't get my cousin!" With an almighty effort, he shoved the hand away, already sending his own fist towards Thrax. The punch hit him squarely on what would've been his nose if he had one but never the less, he stumbled backwards.

"Sharia, get outta here!" Ozzy yelled, awaiting Thrax as he ran at him again.

"I'm not leaving," She said, her voice wavering. "I'm not leaving!" She yelled, glad that her bravado covered her fear. She ran between the two, stopping Ozzy from punching Thrax but instead of Osmosis getting the claw in his chest, Sharia was stock still, gaping down at the claw protruding from her chest as she stood there, between the two. Instead of falling to her knees, she gritted her teeth and slid off the claw, gasping as the air hit the wound. She staggered slightly but then stood up straight, shoulders square.

"No more fighting," Her mouth moved but no sound came. Clearing her throat she barely managed an audible whisper; "No more fighting." The two stared at her, white blood cell and virus alike, as she pitched forward... And fell tumbling over the edge of the building. She smiled to herself as she fell, the wind licking her hair about her. Before she hit the ground however, she felt someone hold her from behind her, holding them close. The next moment appeared jumbled and confused for Sharia as she drifted up, up and back onto the roof. As she was laid down on the roof, she saw Ozzy lean over and stroke her hair, whispering soothing words into her ear, willing her to hang on. She smiled weakly and placed a hand on his face, relaying all her emotions to him in that one movement. She looked around and saw Thrax staring off into the distance, fiddling with his sunglasses.

He was quietly humming a song and Sharia recognised it as 'Fever' but it soon melded into 'Breath'. She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, hissing in pain as she felt the hole in her chest knit its self back together. Ozzy watched in wonder as his cousin somehow managed to knit the hole in her chest back together, watching as little strands of plasma stretched out and grabbed hold of the other side, drawing each other close. Soon, the only evidence that was left of where the hole had been was a slash of darker purple. Helping her to her feet, Ozzy stood by her side in case she should fall. She wavered on the spot like a drunkard, swaying from side to side slightly as if a strong wind might blow her over. Shakily walking over to the virus, she wrapped her arms around him, using that simple gesture to show her thanks.

Thrax froze as he felt her arms wrap around him, unused to this gesture. He placed a hand on her shoulder, apologising. She broke away, a sudden idea coming to her. She grinned and set off running, jumping across a gap between buildings, yelling over her shoulder for them to try to get her. Thrax looked at Ozzy with a raised eyebrow.

"Is she always like this?" He asked.

Ozzy shook his head. "Only when she's had too much fun or been inside for too long." He shrugged, already setting off after her. Thrax shook his head. All this strangeness had happened since he had re-entered Frank. He just couldn't understand. He unfurled his trench coat and leapt off the building, spreading the fabric until he was gliding and rising on a thermal. The virus watched Ozzy and Sharia as they raced each other to see who could get to each other first. He smiled but then stopped. What the _hell_ was he thinking? He was meant to be getting his chain back and getting revenge on Jones. What _hell_ was he doing? Turning round, he quickly glided back to the club, ordering his goons to meet him at the main FPD station. He stalked out onto the street, stepping right in front of a car. Grabbing the driver, he threw them out, taking the car for himself. After getting in, he punched the dashboard, his fist sinking in and changing the car. Instead of a boring blue, it became the same orange colour of his glowing finger, but that was not the only change. Fins quickly appeared, one on the roof and one on each side of the car. Pressing down the accelerator, he shot forward, trailing an orange trail behind him.

When he arrived at the station, he smiled grimly as he saw the germs were already causing a distraction. He snuck in, unnoticed where he proceeded towards the safe near the back. With one quick slash, he was in, already heading towards the blue and black chain hanging off a hook. He grinned as he placed it back around his wrist. Turning around, he saw a shadow in the doorway looking at him, a gun levelled in their direction. Lifting up his already glowing claw, he started towards them, only to freeze when he saw Sharia standing there, the gun pointing towards his head.

"Put it back Thrax," She said, her voice quivering slightly. "I don't want to shoot." The virus wandered why her voice shook slightly, but as the light from his claw touched her face, he saw dark paths that started from her eyes. They stood like that for what seemed an age, looking at each other, waiting for one of them to act. Sharia's finger began to tighten on the trigger, preparing to fire. Thrax stepped forward, his claw now lowered and looked into her eyes, allowing the feeling that had been in him flourish.

"It's the thing I came for baby," He sighed. "I can't just put it back after all the trouble I've been through to get it back." He stroked her face, smiling as she leaned into it. Putting his arm on her shoulder, he pulled her into an embrace, standing there for several minutes while the sound of conflict could be heard from outside.

"I don't get why there had to be so much violence just for one thing," Sharia murmured. "If you asked, you could've got your chain back. If only you had been like this before you came in. Maybe all this wouldn't of happened." Thrax stroked her hair, stopping her from breaking down into a sobbing wreck.

"I wasn't like this before I met you baby," He answered. "We could've met earlier, only if you had been willing to go into the night club. I know you knew nothing about me but you could've learnt about me." Sharia buried her face deeper into his coat, trying to muffle the sounds of screams and gunshots outside. After more minutes had elapsed, she couldn't take it any longer and she broke away from him, running outside where she yelled at them to stop. When nothing happened, she quietly began to sing, but it gradually got louder as she grew more bold. Soon everyone was looking at her in wonder, confused at why this girl was singing outside the police station.

"_So sacrifice yourself!_

_And let me have what's left._

_I know that I can find,_

_The fire in your eyes!_

_I'm going all the way!_

_Get away! Please!_

_You take the breath right out of me._

_You left a hole where my heart should be._

_You got to fight just to make it through,_

'_Cause I will be the death of you..."_

As she finished singing, her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She felt Thrax place a reassuring arm around her, whispering words into her ear. Everyone looked between the virus and the white blood cell, confused. Then one of them pulled out a gun and fired, straight at Thrax...


	5. Thank God

Sharia opened her eyes as she heard the gunshot, worrying about where it was going. The cry of pain beside her told her where it had landed. Spinning round, she saw Thrax clutching his injured arm, eyes wincing in pain. Turning her head, she glared at the person who had fired it, making them cower away. Grabbing the hem of her jacket, she tore off a clean strip, wrapping it around the virus's hand, stemming the bleeding.

"Thanks," Thrax breathed. "I think I can get the bullet out, unless it was one of those damn energy bullets." With his free hand, he carefully fished about inside his wound, hissing occasionally if he hit a sensitive spot. Eventually, he pulled out a tiny, mangled piece bullet, dropping it onto the ground. He stayed there, hunched over, until he straightened, towering over all the other cells as he calmly walked forward, touched the cell that had shot him with his glowing claw, his face impassive as their skin (or plasma, whatever) erupted into angry boils that wept an orange liquid that caused more boils to form. They screamed in terror and pain as they melted into a pool of plasma, until that too was set alight.

"I thought you'd stop setting people alight," Sharia said, one eyebrow raised while the other stayed perfectly still. "I told you not to do that." Thrax grinned back at her, the roguish glint present in his yellow eyes. He winked, chuckling as she blushed a deep purple. He strolled back to her, draping an arm over her shoulders, being careful not to touch his still open wound. They walked back to his car, Sharia driving to save Thrax any trouble. They both sighed as they got in, relieved that the tainted windows hid them from the people outside.

"Thank Frank that's over..." Sharia sighed. "I hoped we wouldn't have to battle our way over to this car."

"I'm glad I parked it so damn close," Thrax replied, hissing as his arm caught the dashboard. "No one would think that a virus like me would get annoyed at several people in one place." He breathed out, closing his eyes. "Where's your cousin? I thought he was with you." Sharia froze, hands clutching the steering wheel as if it would attack her at any moment.

"Don't ask..." Was all she said as she pulled out onto the road.

Osmosis rubbed his head, looking about him as he saw he was back in his apartment. He frowned, not remembering getting there. He sat up, clutching at his head as his nucleus flared in pain. Reaching over to his bed stand, he lifted the already empty cup to his lips, taking in a tiny drop of liquid. Groaning, he stood up, swaying slightly and walked over to his bathroom, staring at his face with wide eyes.

"What in Frank happened to me?" He nearly screeched. His face, instead of being a normal shade of blue all over, had blotches of darker colour, especially around where his head ached. "Sharia." He muttered, using her name as an explanation. Stumbling back to his bed, he basically fell back onto it, trying to pull fractured memories back into place. He frowned as a certain memory caught his attention. He remembered Sharia standing there, her eyes tracking Thrax's every movement as he flew back to the club, her eyes seemingly cloudy. She had turned then, raising her fist and hitting him on the face, knocking him to the ground where she quickly delivered the blow to the back of head. He froze, the answer coming to him. The damn virus had turned her onto his side. Ozzy stood up, his whole frame trembling with pent up rage.

Storming out of the apartment, he got into his car and crunched into gear, shooting out of the garage towards the police station. When he arrived, he was shocked to see white blood cells helping germs to their feet. As he barged through everyone, her heard faint snippets of gossip about a singing spectre that stopped everyone from fighting. Ozzy snorted, knowing how fighting can produce the most bizarre delusions. Once he entered the vault, he nearly threw the chair inside at the wall as he saw that the chain had disappeared. Marching out of the vault, he saw a faint orange trail on the road. He grinned, knowing that only one vehicle could produce that trail. He jumped into his car and followed the trail, bloodlust already ignited within him. Slowing down, he noticed the orange car outside the flats where Sharia stayed. He smiled and parked his car, already thinking about hot to kill Thrax. When he got to him, oh how he was going to pay when he faced Ozzy. Thoughts whirled around his head as he climbed the stairs, legs taking them two at a time. When he reached Sharia's apartment, he opened the door, knowing she never left it locked. He frowned as the door didn't budge. Sighing, he reached into his coat and pulled out the spare key, placing it into the slot and twisting it, smirking as it clicked.

He crashed into the room, only to be met with the most bizarre scene he had ever seen. He saw the virus gazing up at him with surprise while Sharia tended to the wound on his arm, murmuring apologies when she hit a nerve. The virus tapped her shoulder, nodding towards Ozzy who stood jaw open and dangling as he looked at the scene in front of him. She turned and grimaced, knowing she would have hell to pay.

"Sorry, Osmosis, I had to get to Thrax bef-" She was cut off when she finally saw his expression. Covering her mouth to stifle the giggles, she looked back at Thrax's wound, her shoulders shaking with pent up mirth. Still Osmosis stood there, gawping at the sight before him. A thought flashed across his mind and he remembered why he had come here.

"You son of a B****!" He yelled, already running forward. Thrax held up his left hand, since he couldn't move his right one, in a defensive gesture. Sharia leapt between them.

"OSMOSIS JONES!" She screeched. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Ozzy stopped and looked at her as if she was a simpleton.

"You can't see how I'm saving you from becoming an abomination by killing him. He's persuaded you to join his side so he can kill Frank again! Surely you can see that now?" She gazed at him, then let the floodgates open and she fell to the ground, laughing so much that she was gasping for breath in between. "WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY?" Ozzy said, his fury at being laughed at overruling his desire to kill the virus. Thrax chuckled as he saw Jones's face, seeing the expression of one being laughed at. Sharia eventually reined herself in, stifling the giggles. When she looked back at Osmosis, she saw he had relaxed but not fully since he still had his hand on his gun.

"The reason I had to punch you was because," She took a deep breath. "I knew you would stop me if I went in pursuit of Thrax so I did what came my mind. Sorry about the bruises." She winced as she looked at the large, unsightly bruise at the side of his head. For a moment, Osmosis stood there, hand still on his gun when eventually, it slipped off, sliding into a pocket instead. He looked at Thrax and saw that he was looking down at his wound, his bright yellow eyes distant. He played around his long claw, watching it to keep himself distracted from the steady spread of DNA that was appearing on the bandage on his arm. Once he tired of his claw, he fiddled about with the chain that was now around his right wrist once again. Sharia carried on cleaning the wound, taking the bandage off and dipping a cloth into some liquid. The virus hissed slightly as the liquid touched his skin, reminding him of the burn of the alcohol. Of course, as was their ritual, Sharia murmured her apologies while he stroked her hair, brushing away a strand that had fallen in front of her eyes.

"Don't worry, baby," He whispered. "It doesn't hurt that much. Besides, it was a good thing that the cop didn't shoot my chest or anywhere round there." He brushed his dreds back with his left hand, wondering why he had Sharia had seemed so calm when he had killed the officer right in front of her.


	6. A Shocking Revelation

Sharia looked over at Thrax with loving eyes as he reached forward to grab her round the waist. She grinned and twirled into his grip as a song played quietly in the background. He chuckled as she gave him a quick kiss before twirling away again.

"There's been something on my mind lately," He said, choosing his words carefully. "Why didn't you react at all when I killed that white blood cell?" Sharia froze, gripping the kitchen counter. Her eyes moved, although she wasn't seeing anything, as she replayed a memory in her mind, the horror still revolting her, even to this day. Breathing a deep breath, she turned round, her eyes closed.

"I haven't just killed germs," She mumbled. "One night, this white blood cell came to us and started taking mama away. I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen and then... and then something snapped within me, as if someone had flicked a switch." She stopped her eyes opening, letting Thrax see the horror in her violet eyes as she remembered the night. "I leapt forward and somehow killed them with nothing but my bare hands...My bare hands... Capable of killing..." Her eyes widened for a moment but then they fluttered shut and she fell to the floor in a dead faint. Thrax had rushed forward and caught her, just before she hit the ground. He looked at her, worried about the memory that seemed to be plaguing her. Carrying her to the bed, he laid her down, resting her head on the pillow. He sat by her side, ever vigilant as he waited for to wake, fiddling with his chain. About an hour or so passed when Sharia finally woke, looking around her with clouded eyes. Seeing Thrax sitting beside her, she flung her arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably. Rubbing away her tears, she looked at the virus, only to see him deep in thought as he remembered what she had said.

"I've heard of something similar to your case," He murmured. "It's happened before but only when someone gets infected by a virus or cancer cell... Have you got any memories of being attacked by a virus other than me?" Sharia scanned her memories, looking for anything that might look suspicious. A gap in her memory caught her attention and she dived into it, only to find herself face to face with a rather disturbing memory of being backed into an alley with nowhere left to hide. Carefully looking at the face in the memory, she saw bright, almost glowing, green eyes staring at her from an inky black face with dark blue hair in front of their face. She saw them smirk as they lunged forward, their hands digging into her midriff. Violent, searing pain filled her as the hand inside her secreted some type of toxic substance. She snapped back out of the memory, her whole frame shuddering from the remembered pain. Thrax was looking at her with worried eyes as she sat there shuddering.

"I remember a black skinned virus," She began. "They had basically glowing green eyes and dark blue hair in front of their face." She saw Thrax freeze and she tilted her head to the side in a curious gesture. "What is it?" She asked, wondering what had caused him to freeze in this way.

"That virus..." He growled, the sound rippling up from his chest. "He didn't get his hand inside you did he?" He looked over at her, seeing the aghast expression on his face confirmed his fears. "He infected you, Sharia. Every day at a time, you're slowing changing." He hung his head." I don't know what to do..." He scrunched his eyes shut as tears threatened to leak. Sharia sat there, as still as a statue, as she reflected on what Thrax had said. A sudden shudder passed through her and in a brief flash, she thought about how nice her room would be if there was DNA splattered on the walls... She gasped and fell back, clutching her head as more violent thoughts blossomed. Grabbing her arm, Thrax looked her straight in the eye.

"Look at me Sharia," He begged. "Remember you aren't a virus. You don't need to kill. You are Sharia, not some twisted virus. Listen to me!" He roared the last part, grabbing her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. The white blood cell felt as if something had wriggled itself into her nucleus, forcing her into this pained state. She looked into the virus's eyes, slowly releasing her head from her hands. Instead of sitting up, she smiled viscously and grabbed Thrax's hands, twisting them at a painful angle, forcing him to let go of her. He stumbled back, looking at Sharia's darkened skin.

"What's the matter Thrax?" She asked, her voice cold. "Don't like the new me?" She darted forward, grabbing him by the throat, looking at his eyes with her now bright green eyes. "You only liked the weak me. But that's gonna change." She threw him across the room and he hit the wall with a sickly crunch. Groaning her looked up at Sharia, pleading with his eyes.

"Sharia, this isn't you!" He moaned. "Look back at your good memories. Come back to me, Sharia!" He groaned and leaned forward clutching his ribcage, tenderly touching the area around where a nice bruise was appearing. The half-virus, half-white blood cell Sharia gazed at him impassively when a wave of nausea overtook her, causing her to growl and force it back.

"NO!" She yelled. "I won't change back! I like the way I am!" Her screeching was cut short as she fell to the floor, her skin already a normal purple. Thrax looked down at Sharia's body, knowing he would have to tell Osmosis somehow. He walked over to her, every movement causing new bursts of pain to flare up in his chest. He gingerly laid down beside her, closing his eyes, hoping to awake when she did. They both sailed off to peaceful oblivion at the same time...

When the virus awoke, he found himself on the bed with a bandage around his midriff. He looked around and saw Sharia gazing out the window with distant eyes. She was obviously listening to someone on the phone she held in her hand and she groaned when she heard Ozzy yell at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't... No, I didn't know before Thrax told me... Fine. Feel free to come over, but be careful. I don't know how volatile this virus side is." She said into her cell. Once the call finished she looked over at Thrax and was relieved when she saw him awake. "Sorry about what happened. I... I didn't know what happened." She looked away, hiding her shame from him, not wanting him to notice.

"I know, baby, I know." He got up and walked over to her, placing his arm around her waist. "It's good that you told Jones yourself. I don't have the courage to tell him." He murmured. They both looked out the window, knowing that if they didn't sort out Sharia, their time together would be limited. "I'll go get us some drinks quickly." Thrax said as he disappeared into the kitchen. When he came back, he found most of Sharia's personal possessions gone. He dropped the drinks, rushing over to a note left on the bed. His eyes widened as he read it.

_Dear Thrax, my beloved,_

_I have to go, I can't stay, not with this bloody virus side of me. I have left with most of my things in case I need them. I leave you my love and most of all, I leave you my memory should I go crazy and loose myself to the virus within._

_With all my love and heart,_

_Sharia xxx_

He stared at the note, eyes burning with a ferocity that had only been present when he had been fighting Jones the first time. He clenched his fist, crushing the note. Running over to his coat, he slipped into it, stuffing the crumpled note into his pocket. Opening the window, he jumped out and snapped his coat open, gliding across the City of Frank in search of his lost love...

**And her ends 'Burning Up'. There will be another book but you will have to wait to find out... –insert evil chuckle here- Thrax: Why can't you write it now? I need to find Sharia!**

**Me: Calm down, Romeo. I'm moving house so I have a valid explanation!**

**Thrax: Write it quickly then (grumbles)**


End file.
